How to use DJ-Classifieds

Monday, 05 March 2018 09:31

How to use DJ-Classifieds 5.0 out of 5 based on 1 votes.

DJ-Classifieds is a powerful Joomla extension with an outstanding number of features. This article covers the basics and most important sections of the extension's setup so you can kickstart easily your new classified ads website.

If you want to go deeper and learn about more detailed features check the links at the bottom of this article.

This article covers:

Ok, let's start, the article is written in the style to guide you through all sections needed to set up the classifieds website with DJ-Classifieds. Each section has also the links for the articles that will guide you into the details.

Extra fields

Extra fields (also called: "custom fields") are not required for DJ-Classifieds to operate but are very helpful in differentiating ads submitted to specific categories.

By using extra fields, ads assigned to the e.g. „Phones” category can be displayed with detailed information in the custom field that it has 32GB „Storage”, but ads from e.g. „For Rent” category can have 3 „Rooms”. So each category in DJ-Classifieds can have a specific set of the custom fields that can be later used for filtering, searching, displaying on the advert page, and so on.

Adding extra fields to the categories (and therefore -> to adverts) is not the only way to use them. Custom fields can be also assigned to User profiles, contact details, and the "Contact this advertiser"form. Learn more about extra fields here.

Locations

Using Locations (also referred to as "Regions") is also optional, but it’s a very powerful feature, allowing to e.g. display adverts on the map, or search for them using user’s current location.

Posting/submitting/adding adverts

Posting ads will be done by your users, on the site’s front-end (although you might also add adverts in the site’s back-end, as an admin).

To allow users to do so, you will need to publish one of many menu items, available in DJ-Classifieds component, which is – „Add item” menu item.

Navigate to e.g. your main menu and create the „Add item” DJ-Classifieds menu item, so it could be accessed on front-end:

adding menu item

Displaying ads on site

It’s all about the ads. Once they are successfully added, they will need to be displayed on your site:

By „Category table layout” or „Category blog layout” menu items (to have a whole separate page for displaying ads)

category blog and table layout

Learn more about available DJ-Classifieds menu items here.

Or by „DJ-Classifieds Items” module (to display ads anywhere on any existing page)

djclassifieds items module

Modules & Plugins

The module for displaying ads („DJ-Classifieds Items” module) is only one of many installed when you install the DJ-Classifieds All-In-One package on your site (or a Quickstart with it).

Here is a list of all available DJ-Classifieds modules. They can be published on site, as any other Joomla! modules – in Extensions -> Modules -> New:

new module There is also a ton of plugins for DJ-Classifieds available for additional download from the "DJ-Extensions” site (after logging in with a user with active DJ-Classifieds subscription):

integration plugins – for integrating DJ-Classifieds with other 3rd party extensions, like Falang, EasySocial, Jomsocial, J!MailAlerts, and many more (or even a Joomla! core search module).
Premium Apps – additional premium plugins, heavily extending the use of DJ-Classifieds.
Maps plugins – By default, Maps in DJ-Classifieds are handled by Google. But there are other options, if you don’t want to, or can’t use Google Maps.
Payment plugins – Along with DJ-Classifieds, e.g. the PayPal payment plugin was also installed. But the list of payment plugins for DJ-Classifieds is very long.

Making money off your classifieds site

Speaking of the payment plugins. Those can be used to allow users to spend their money for many goods, that are connected to... ads. Let’s list them:

Promotions – 4 types: First, Background, Border & Special – allowing users to mark out their ads from others
Categories – users can be charged for adding ads to some specific categories, or for all of them
Duration – you can set a constant day limit after which all ads will expire, or, allow users to choose one of the available (created by you) durations limit, free or not
Move to top – similar to the promotion „First”, but allowing users for additional ad’s boost on the list of adverts
Payable types – you can create Types with colorful labels like „For Sale” or „Free” – and set them to be payable or free, in case users want to assign them to their ads
Payable characters – ad’s description can be very long, but you might want to make users pay if it’s too long
Points packages – Points system, another great feature allowing to pay for all of the above goods with points, but the packages with this points should be purchased by real money
Subscription Plans – a premium feature provided by the additional plugin – learn more about Plans here.
Images – what a boring classifieds site without any images – you decide how much of them (per ad) should be free of charge

Buy Now & Auctions

„Buy Now” feature allows users to post ads with some quantity, so other users could buy them.

They can even use a PayPal payment plugin for direct payments. „Auctions” option, on the other hand, if enabled for the ad, allows other users to place bids for the item, and changing the classifieds site into an eBay-like site.

Multilingual site

You might want to present your classifieds site in more than one language. Happily, DJ-Classifieds fully supports it.

First, you need to learn how to create a multi-lingual Joomla! site – here is a good article on this topic - How to set up a Multilingual Joomla! Site

Then, you can start making DJ-Classifieds multi-lingual.

We provide many language packs for DJ-Classifieds, which can be downloaded from the „DJ-Extensions” site (after logging in with a user with active DJ-Classifieds subscription).

Once the downloaded language pack is installed (like any other Joomla! extension), it will be used automatically if the site’s language changes to the corresponding one.

But the language pack covers only the component's static content.

For translating the dynamic content, like DJ-Classifieds category names, extra fields, etc., using "Falang" component is needed, along with special .xml content elements files (also available on our site).

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